Overhead contact and switch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. O. J. VAN DEPOELE.

OVERHEAD CONTACT AND SWITOH.

No. 397,451. Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

Charles IVcmZYepoeZc N. PETERS, Fhnlo-Lilhugnpher, Washingmn. u c,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

. J. VAN DEPOELE.

OVERHEAD CONTACT AND SWITCH.

No. 397,451. Patented Feb. 5, 1889..

QWWM as,

Charles J; 760238730626 (,llARLEti .T. \UXY DEPOEL 1, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

OVERHEAD iZONTACT AND SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,451, dated February 5, 1889. Application filed November 12, 1888 Serial No. 290,553. (No model.)

To all [0710722 it 'nmy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES .l'. VAN DE- POELE, a citizen ol. the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. Overhead Contacts and Switches, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to improvements in electric railways, and in clndes improvements upon the invention forming the subject-mat ter of a priorapplication forlietters Patent tiled by me Lllarch 12, 1887, Serial No. 230,649.

The novel features of the present application comprise an improved switch for u p wardpressure suspended contact devices and improved devices conncctin the conductors with the switches and acting to lessen or eliminate all sudden, jerky, and rough movement of the traveling contact on entering and leaving the switches.

The invention in rt licrmore incl ndes various details oi? construction and armngement hereinafter pointed out, and retro-red to in the appended claims.

In the accom 'n'mying drawings, 'I*igure 1 is an elevation showing an electric-railway motor-car and suspended conductor wi th switches and contact dcv ices cmbod yin my .inven tion, a portion of the trontof the car bein broken away to show the motor. l ig. 9 is a detail view showing the adjustable tension-spring by which. the upward contact is maintained. Fig. 3 is an elevation. showing one of the switches, a portion of the main conductor, and the contact dcvicedhe switch-box bcin mrtly broken away to show the interior arrangement. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a branch from the suspended main conduct or and the switching devices therefor. Iliig. is an inverted plan view showin my improved switch and the ribs extending from the extremities thereof, all on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, showing one of the extremities of the switch shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 an inverted plan view, also on an enlarged scale, showing the switch with the addition of the fixed guides at the extremities.

Similarletters denote like par-ts throughout.

As illustrated in the drawings, A is a car of the type in use on street-railways and ar ranged to be propelled by an electric motor, B, suitablyloeated thereon in any desired position, and having its armature in mechanical connection with the carrying-wheels thereof.

(1 is the track upon which the car moves.

D is the main supplyconductor, suitably supported from its upper side at any desired height above the car and extending at substantially the same height along the line of travel of the car.

An insulated post or socket, F, is mounted upon the top of the car and provided at its lower portion with an enlarged base, f, or other means by which it may be attached to the roof ol. the car. A ln'acc-rodj", may also be provided. A bifurcated support,G, fits down into and is free to turn within or upon the post 1?. A metallic frame or clamp, H, is hinged at betweenv the arms of the pivot G, being thereby both hinged and pivoted upon the post F. Extensions or solid portions h upon the brace H are longitudinally apertured to recei ve the contact lever or arm I, which is secured in the desired position in its hinged and pivoted supporting-trame II by set-screws 72 The arm I consists, desirably, of a light bar, which may be of metal or wood, and is bifurcated at its outer extremity to receive the grooved contact-wheel J, which is suitably pivoted. between the extremities thereof.

One or more tension-springs, K, three being shown in the present instance, are secured to the lower end of the frame Tl, as indicated in Fig. 2, or to an. adjustable clamp, 71 movable upon the arm I. The springs K are ad justably secured to the roof of the car by chain and hook 7t 7.", or equivalent means, and act to press the outer end of the contact-arm upward and hold the grooved contactovheel J in electrical contact with the sus )endedconductor l). A cord or chain, L, is attached at one end near the lower extremity of the arm I and at its other also to the arm I, but near its outer extremity or at any convenient point on the opposite side of its fulcrum to that upon which the springs K directly act. In case of accidental displacement of the 0011- tact-wheel J the cord or chain L, passing through guide L and being provided with a suitable stop, I, will prevent the arm I moving upward or swinging laterally beyond a predetermined distance, and the cord itself affords a convenient means of replacing the contact-wheel in operative relation with the conductor.

The pivotal connection between the contactarm I and car through the frame ll and post F will allow the contact-wheel .l to remain in operative relation with the conductor, notwithstanding the swaying of the car due to unevenness of. the track, sul'iicient lateral action as well as vertical motion being permitted by the elasticity of the springs K, and additional freedom of movement being allowed by the resiliency of the arm I. At points where the conductor I) unites with other conductors or diverges are located switching devices for uniting the several conductors and properly guiding the contact-wheel.

The switching devices consist of hollow boxes or frames E, preferably of metal, and comprising side walls, 0, and a top wall, F, the sides forming guideways and being separated sufficiently to allow the contact-wheel to pass freely therethrough.

The conductor I) may extend along the exterior of the top wall, 1 of each switch-box, or it may terminate at clamps d, by which it is preferably secured in position. The boxes E are in metallic contact with the conductors with which they are connected, and the current passes from the box to the contact-wheel without interruption. The extremities f of the top wall of the switch are curved upward to prevent the contact-wheel J striking thereagainst and receiving a sudden and severe blow 011 entering the switch.-an occurrence that would be likely to derail the contactwheel. Said extremities are apertured or notched at i' for the passage ofthe conductor 1).

To prevent wabbling or violent oscillation of the contact-wheel J within the switch, and particularly as it enters and leaves the same, I provide the ribs M, which are seen red to the under side of' the conductor a short distance in advance of where it enters the switch and continue into the switch a short distance and act to guide the contact-wheel smoothly thereinto. The ribs M are narrow tapering strips of metal grooved along a portion of their upper edge to fit against the under side of the conductor and are rounded off toward their lower edges to tit the groove of. the contactwheel, and said lower edges are tapered from their longitudinal center toward each extremity, so to present oppositely-disposed planes meeting at the entrance to the switch.

The guide-ribs M may be strips of metal soldered, brazed, riveted, or made integral with the main conductor and by it retained in the described position, a portion thereof projecting into the switch-box. As shown in Figs. 3 and 8, however, it will be found convenient to provide the said ribs with extensions or lugs m, which may rest against the under side of the top wall of the switch-box and receive the bolts N, by which the conductor-retaining clamps d are held in position. \Vlien the interior cross-section of the switch-box is made wider than the face of the contact-wheel, as will be found necessary on sharp or complicated curves, in order to prevent the wheel pinching or binding during its passage therethrough, additional guideribs, R, Fig. 7, are formed or provided at the exits from the switches, so that the contactwheel will be gradually brought to the proper position before leaving the switch. \Vhen, however, the groove in the contact-wheel .I is of ample width and only working play allowed on the interior of the switch-box, this precaution will. be wholly unnecessary, as the contact-wheel will be unable to issue from the box without its groove engaging the guiderib M.

The suspended switches correspond in direction with the track-switches. As shown in Figs. 3, 4-, 5, and 7 by way of illustration, conductors from two directions converge and unite. It is assumed for the purpose of this description that one contact device will move through the switch in the direction of the arrow marked 1 on Fig. at and that a contact device will also move through said switch in an opposite direction, as indicated by the arrow In order to secure their uninterrupted passage without interference or injury, the intersecting portions or ways 0 I are separated by a flexible tongue, Q, attached to the point of divergence of the portions 0 P, its outer extremity normally resting against the side wall of the part 0. A contact-wheel passing through the switch in the diiection of the arrow 1 will come in contact with the tongue Q, move it sidewise, and pass, the tongue then returning to position. A contact-wheel entering in the direction of the arrow 2, the presence of the ton gueQ will prevent it passing out through the portion. 0 and deflect it, causing it to follow the portion P and issue upon the rib M, from which it passes smoothly into contact with the under side of the conductor I).

It will be understood that contact-wheels and tension devices of other forms than that described may be used in connection with my improved switch with good results; also, that the advantages ensuing from the use of the guide-ribs MI are wholly independent of the (-nnployment of the SWliiCll-hOllg'llQ Q or defleeting ribs or contractions R.

I do .not limit myself to the precise details shown and (lOSClllKHl, since various minor changes of form and arrangement may be made consistently with the foregoing description.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A switch for suspended electric-railway conductors, comprisin a box attached to the conductor and formed with two or more branching compartments leading there through, one or more of the compartments having a contracted portion adjacent to its extremity, substantially as described.

A switching device for electricrailways, consisting of an open-bottom metallic boxor frame secured to and depending from the under side of a suspended conductor and formed with two or more branching co1npartments leading therethrough, the extremities of such coinpartments .iiaring outwardlvtoward the cmiduetor to form lateral guides and inwardly to facilitate the passage of the contact device, substantially as described.

A switching device for electric railways, comprising an open-bottom box, conductors connected to the upper portion of the box, and a guide rib or ribs connecting the extremity or extremitiesof the switch-box with the conductor, substantially as described.

4:. A switching device for electric railways, comprisii'ig an open-bottom box, conductors leading to the upper closed portion of the box, and a guide-rib conuectin g the interior of each extremity of the switch-box with the eonductor, substantially as described.

5. A switch for suspended electricrailway (amductors, comprising a downmtrdly-open frame or box havin passages extending therethrough, the main conductor attached to the upper pin-tion thereof, aml a guide rib or strip extending from the inner under side of the box and against the under side of the eonduetor, substantially as described.

U. A switching device for-,suspended electric-railway comiuetors, comprising an open frame or box having branching compartments extemling therethrough and suspended. from the main conductor, and fixed guides at the extremities oi. said passages, substantially as described.

7. A switching device for snspendi'al eleetric condlietors, comprising an open-bottom box or frame formed with ln'anehing (-0111- partments and depending from the eonductor, a rib or ridge at the under side of the (.OlHlllCilOl' and extending into the switch-box, and lateral guides on each side of the. rib, substantially as described.

111 an electric railway, the com])inatien,

with the car, of a post cxtondin g upward therefrom, a frame hinged and pivoted upon said post, and a longitudinally-adjustable arm secured in said frame and provided at one end with a grooved contact-wheel for engagement with a suspended conductor and at the other with a tension sp ring for maintaining the contact-wheel. inoperative position, substantially as described.

0. The combination ot. a n'ioving vehicle, a support or post exteiuling upward therefrom, a frame hinged and pivoted therein, an arm lon gitudiuall y adjustable in the pivoted frame and provided at its outer end with a contactwheel arranged to bear against the under side of the conductor, and tension-springs acting against the arm for holding the contact-wheel in ;)osition, substantially as described.

10. In an electric railway, the combination, with the ear, of a post extending upwardly therefrom, a contact-car]'yin g arm hinged and pivoted upon said post, and a tension-spring adjustably secured to the lower part of said arm and connected with the car, said spring acting to hold the outer extremity of the arm and the contact carried thereby upward against a suspended supply-conduetor, substautiall y as described.

ll. In an electric railway, the combination, with a car, of a post extending upwardly therefrom, a contact-earrying arm hinged and pivoted upon said post and provided at one end with a grooved contact-wheel for engagementwith the supply-00nductor suspended above the'iine ot' travelot the car, and a rope or other flexible connection secured near the outer end of said arm and connected with the car, and a rope or flexible connection secured at or near the lower end of said arm, wl'iereby the outer extremity. of the arm may be lowered by one rope and the arm moved into the desired. position by' the other rope, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof l hereto atlix my signature in nesenee of two witnesses.

UIIARLES .l'. VAN DEPOELE. Witnesses:

.1. W. GIBBoNEY, (inns. L. OEGHSNER. 

